Darnay Holmes

Husker fans have followed the recruitment of Darnay Holmes for the better part of two years, and that long journey came to an end Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

The five-star cornerback from California announced his commitment to UCLA live from the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas. He chose from a final group that also included Nebraska, Ohio State and USC.

Despite nearly two years of effort, the Huskers couldn’t secure a commitment from Holmes. Though that doesn’t come as a major surprise. Most experts considered expected Holmes to stay in his hometown of Los Angeles for college.

Holmes would have been the highest-rated recruit to commit to Nebraska for as long as recruiting rankings have existed. Holmes is a five-star prospect according to every service except ESPN, and the 247Sports composite ranks him as the nation’s No. 12 overall recruit and No. 2 cornerback.

Nebraska fans still held out hope, though, considering his connection to other recruits to come from Calabasas High School — Marquel Dismuke, Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and Tristan Gebbia. Holmes had also made several unofficial visits to Lincoln over the last couple years, despite the distance from Southern California.

Still, not landing Holmes leaves NU without a defensive back in its 2017 recruiting class. The Huskers will now turn their attention to other cornerback targets from California like Elijah Blades, Greg Johnson and Deommodore Lenoir — the latter two also played in the Army Bowl on Saturday.